Welcome, all lovers of space operas! Welcome to my Radio Spot Reliquary.
Ahh…the holidays: Time for family, friends and fun. And time for binge-watching favorite movies!
I love science fiction movies, especially outer space adventures. Spaceships, aliens, laser weapons, space torpedoes, spaceship dogfights, distant planets and people in peril. Those types of movies have always been in demand and have been some of the best-loved sci-fi movies.
Just the mere mention of the character’s names conjures up images of amazing scenes, damsels in distress and action, action, action! Names like Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon, Rocky Jones, Tom Corbett, Captain Video, Commando Cody and Col. Steve Zodiac (how many of you remember that name?) promised non-stop action on both the big screen and on TV. For kids growing up in movie theaters and in front of the television, it was true escapism at its best.
To be expected, the movies and characters created very loyal fan bases, and many arguments developed over which character, serial or movie was best. That continues to this day as the two most endearing movie franchises continue to offer fans fodder for discussion and argument. Of course, I reference the two which have ingrained themselves into the psyche of modern society: Star Wars and Star Trek. …
Here we are in a new year, and the last one ended in a whirl of activity. The last time we visited, Halloween was upon us. It was a magic time here in Squirrel Hollow with lots of fun and excitement. The kids had a ball. Let me tell you about it.
Everyone went out of their way to ensure that their houses were as creepily decorated as possible, and that treats of all sorts were plentiful for the trick or treaters. Before the night arrived, we heard that a school in an adjacent community was sponsoring a huge “Trunk or Treat” event and they went all out promoting it. That aggravated many of our town’s Halloween fans and we wondered what we could do to offset the draw of this event. Leave it to good old Uncle Oscar, caretaker at Witchwood Cemetery, to come through. After conferring with all the residents, it was decided to hold our first “Crypt or Treat” event ahead of our usual Monster Bash.
All of the crypts, tombs and graves at the cemetery were opened and decorated with all sorts of Halloween fare. The residents really got into it and offered up all kinds of ghoulish and ghastly treats for the visiting, costumed children. We held it starting at 8:30 PM, just after most kids finished terrorizing the neighborhood houses for treats. This allowed them time to visit the cemetery residents and still make it home at a decent hour in time for bed. At midnight, of course, the Monster Bash was held. The feedback was all positive and the kids had a blast, getting treats from the residents and trying to decide who had the scariest costumes, the corpses and decayed bodies or the kids. It was a graveyard smash!
Thanksgiving came and, after dinners with all the families, my great granddaughter, Grizelda, approached me saying her school was having a Christmas fundraiser to help needy families in Squirrel Hollow and surrounding communities. She was out soliciting donations for items to be rummaged off the week before Christmas. She wondered if I would be able to come up with enough of my homemade Witch’s Brew to help her out. I said sure, and asked how much. She said 400 gallons would probably be enough.
When I came to, I asked her if she was certain she needed that much. She said my Brew was known far and wide and was sure to be a bestseller. I told her I would have to get started right away and it would require me working practically day and night. She said she would help. I said OK.
Needless to say, we met the deadline and I was worn out. However, we were able to raise enough money to provide a nice Christmas dinner and toys to one hundred of the most needy families. They were grateful, our community felt good, and the true spirit of giving was nurtured. It was a magnificent Christmas in Squirrel Hollow.
I recovered just enough to see in the New Year with family and friends. We toasted each others’ health and wished for untold blessings to be ours in the coming year.
When things settled down and returned to normal, I began to think of all the blessings 2025 had brought and pondered what new opportunities would arise in 2026. It was then I realized that I had neglected my articles to Zombos’ Closet! I was mortified! It was hard to shift mental gears from holiday activities to radio spots. What would I do?
I fretted and worried. I called up Zombos’ Closet on the computer and, lo and behold, there was my answer. Zombos had featured a pressbook to Dawn of the Dead (1978), courtesy ofIt Came From Hollywood. That was it! I could offer a great tie-in!
The ladies of Squirrel Hollow enjoy a cup of Witch’s Brew while reminiscing about Halloweens Past: L-R: Granny Creech, Hester Grimple, Vespera Howler, Winifred Hawthorne, Esmeree Grimshaw and Elspeth Darkmoor.
BOO! Greetings, my children –
It is Halloween time, and your old Granny Creech finds herself in a most reflective mood. It is the time for memories – memories of pumpkins, lighted jack-o-lanterns, ghost stories, scarecrows, monsters, princesses and storybook characters, and things that go bump in the night, as well as parties, good times, cool fall air, and the happy sounds of “Trick or Treat!”
I had the girls over for Brew the other afternoon and the talk turned to Halloweens past, and the memories that the very mention of the word conjures up. We reflected on growing up in anticipation of the day, and how the stores and the weather helped usher in the season. Our school classrooms were cheerfully and scarily decorated with orange and black streamers, skeletons, goblins, witches, paper mâché jack-o-lanterns, pumpkins, black cats and monsters galore. Recollections flowed like the Witch’s Brew we all heartily consumed.
One of the girls, Vespera Howler, remembered the fun she used to have going into the local five and dime store to look at the large Halloween display it had. Gurley candles, masks, Ben Cooper costumes, and decorations by Luhrs, Rosbro, Beistle and other companies crowded the “For Sale” tables and delighted her young eyes. Scary records could be purchased to play on record players. All sorts of yummy candy treats were also on display for purchase to appease the characters that would be making the rounds on that spooky night. All of the other girls shared similar feelings brought on by the displays and the predominance of the colors orange and black.
Winifred Hawthorne remarked how different things are today in regards to timing. She said stores didn’t set out Halloween decorations until sometime in October, whereas today, mid-July seems to be the starting point for many. Classrooms were pretty much holiday-oriented, and when October rolled around, kids knew what would be coming. Often classrooms would be decorated with handmade crafts using plenty of orange and black construction paper as well as by commercially-produced decorations and live pumpkins. It was all wonderful as Fall was a magic time of the year.
The TV and radio helped set the mood with programs and specials all geared toward things scary and spooky. Variety shows on TV usually had Halloween skits to bring in the season, and radio stations played songs such as “The Monster Mash”, “The Thing”, “Haunted House”, “Dinner With Drac”, and “Werewolf” among others. My nephew, Crazy Gary, told me when he was growing up in the big city, one particular radio station would feature a two-hour “Monster Marathon” on Halloween night that included ghost stories and creepy tales accompanied by eerie music. After the kiddies went out and tormented the neighborhood in search of all kinds of treats, they could go home and get scared to death listening to stories by Edgar Allan Poe, Guy de Maupassant, Alfred Hitchcock and others.
Hester Grimple said her most vivid memories were of the sounds and smells of Halloween night. She said that to this day, it only takes the smell of the burning of the carved pumpkin caused by the lighted candle inside to overwhelm her with a great sense of nostalgia. She also remembered the sound of children’s excited voices as they crunched their way from yard to yard over unraked leaves wearing store-bought costumes or handmade ones to fend off the cool, fall air.
Esmeree Grimshaw remembered that Halloween used to be fun back in a simpler time. She said that her Methodist church even had Halloween parties for the church kids and they were a hoot. She remembered the special room where a spooky person would blindfold you and take you into a room where body parts had been saved from the victim of a gruesome car accident. You got to feel a bone, two of his eyes, and a bunch of his veins. You also got to touch his brain that was sitting on a dish, feel some of his organs and put your hand in a bowl of his blood. At the end, you were given a towel to dry your hands off and were escorted out of the horrible room…if you survived! Ha ha! Halloween was a time where what you didn’t see was scarier than what you did see. It was all pretend and in good fun.
“That was before things took a turn for the worse and Halloween became something totally different,” said Elspeth Darkmoor. “That was when The Exorcist hit movie theaters and caused quite a stir. Suddenly the Devil and all things occult became too vivid, too real, and Halloween was caught in the crosshairs between those that saw it as harmless fun and those that saw it as too close to all things Satanic and evil,” she said. “Honestly, the Halloween marketers didn’t help, either. Costumes became too horrible and gory, too demonic, so they kind of shot themselves in the foot. You can thank Hollywood for that, too.”
“Yes, and sadly that was about the time we heard stories about people putting razor blades in apples and kids’ candy at Halloween time,“ Esmeree added. “That only gave the naysayers proof of how wicked and bad Halloween was. Society changed. We still see the repercussions of all that today. “Trunk or Treat” has now replaced going door to door and kids that do go trick or treating are always accompanied by their parents. Things aren’t safe. And it took us forever to convince our neighbors that we weren’t real witches…just six crazy old women who loved Halloween as we remembered it and dressed up in celebration.”
We all sighed and things got quiet for a moment as we each journeyed back in time in our minds, wishing things could be as they were. I broke the silence by saying that it was definitely up to us to make this Halloween a memorable one for our neighborhood kids. It was up to us to keep the old traditions going. I poured the last of my Brew (spicy peach tea, actually) into everyone’s cup and we toasted in the season, vowing to do all we could to ensure that this year would be a safe and fun Halloween to remember.
I later rummaged through my Halloween files and came up with some neat ads and photos from times past to share with you. Hopefully these will trigger some forgotten memories or help you to relive some ever-present ones. Enjoy!
Donald Sutherland is beside himself in Invasion of the Body Snatchers 1978
Welcome, all lovers of remakes (are there any?)! Welcome to my Radio Spot Reliquary.
Remakes! Sequels! Is there anything new?
I hear and read it all the time: People are sick of going to the movies and seeing the same things over and over again, or hearing about a new reworking of an old standard. Is there not anything new coming out of Hollywood? Is all new creativity lost? Is it all about finances and the belief that redoing a former blockbuster hit will once again generate the same amount of revenue?
Successful remakes are hard to find. Usually remakes are made of older movies with the idea of modernizing them to appeal to a fresh audience. Some are redone to highlight improved technology. Some work, some don’t. The ones that work have one thing in common: they are remade by fans of the original and want to do it in homage. With all that said, two remakes stand out to me and definitely work: John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982), and 1978’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers. It is this latter movie I want to feature today.
The first version, filmed in 1955 and released in 1956, was well received and has achieved classic status. Its black and white photography gave it a Film Noir look which helped with the sense of paranoia and fear. It is played with all seriousness and the danger builds quickly as more and more residents of the small town of Santa Mira report that their closest family members are somehow different – changed with no emotions. Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter play the hapless couple who slowly sees their circle of friends and the townspeople they love change to become alien visitors who want to capture them and turn them into “pod people.”
Since it was so successful, filmmaker fans in the late 1970s decided to re-envision it, setting it in a large city – San Francisco – and producing it in color. Reviewers liked it and gave credit for its new approach. However, it lost its small town charm and tragedy with events now taking place within a city of countless, nameless individuals being taken over in large numbers. Close friends are changed, so the lack of trust and paranoia are still present, only the threat now exists on a much larger scale. The practical special effects are more advanced than the original, and the sound of the hatching pods is much more organic and alien. The newer version goes into more depth about the origin of the space seeds and the assimilation process, and, to its credit, fixes the original’s flaw in the lover’s reveal at the end. They are two different-looking movies and I enjoy both of them. In fact, they complement each other.
Which do you prefer?
Here are six spots for the 1978 release…three mono spots and three spots in stereo. The stereo spots are basically the same with minor differences, but the mixing is a little sharper and the background effects are more pronounced. Spots for the 1956 version are harder to find than an unopened seed pod. Granny Creech and I are both looking. Maybe someday…
Space seeds! Pods! Pod people! Don’t go to sleep! No emotions! Leonard Nimoy! Invasion of the Body Snatchers!
If you have radio spots you would like to share or talk about with Gary (the Radio Spots Guy), you can reach him at [email protected].
ZC Update: Zombos’ pod-person has been found and destroyed after Gary noticed that he mistakenly said Elliot Gould instead of Donald Sutherland in the photo caption.
Welcome, all lovers of things that go bump in the night! Welcome to my Radio Spot Reliquary. To follow up on my post, Dracula, Yorga, and Frankenstein Oh, My!, here are more vampires than you can shake a stake at.
Barbara Jefford and Mike Raven in Lust for a Vampire
Welcome, all lovers of things that go bump in the night! Welcome to my Radio Spot Reliquary.
Listen…it’s that time of year again for crunching leaves, cool, howling winds, and the sound of spooks and monsters of all kinds.
Take a deep breath: Do you smell it? That unmistakable smell of burning pumpkin, caused by the candle flame licking the base of carved-out lids of eerily illuminated jack-o-lanterns sitting ominously on the porches of households eagerly awaiting the arrival of dozens of ghastly apparitions demanding treats of various kinds. Can you taste it? The sweet taste of hauntingly delicious goodies, from chocolate to peppermint, and everything in between.
Can you feel it? The apprehension of not knowing what is coming to visit your house. Who or what is behind that mask you see staring into your eyes, into your soul? Is it friend…or foe?
Fear! Terror! Horror! Trick or Treat! Tricks with no treat! Nowhere to run! The night ‘he’ came home! The night no one came home! Halloween….One, Two and Three!!!
Halloween
Halloween II
Halloween III: Season of the Witch
Nick Castle holding up his inner monster, Michael Myers
If you have radio spots you would like to share or talk about with Gary (the Radio Spots Guy), you can reach him at [email protected].
Welcome, all lovers of vampires and monsters! Welcome to my Radio Spot Reliquary.
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so I guess it comes as no surprise that the makers of horror movies would capitalize on the tried and true names of horror to seek box office success.
As I was clearing out some of my radio spot files I saw that the vampire and monster-making genres still had some energy left after the great Hammer films had run their courses. Feature vampire lovelies and gruesomely-made monsters and the audiences were sure to come, right? Evidently.
I have come up with eighteen titles of screen shockers that took the Dracula and Frankenstein legends to new directions, many with increasing doses of gore and female nudity. As the 1970s unfolded, the screen became more exploitative. Many of these films lacked quality, but some were adequate. Liberties were taken with the original canon legends, and stories were created to make use of the screen’s new-found freedoms.
So, here are the spots. Most are quite good…some are overly screamed. See how many of these bring back memories…and nightmares.
Blood! Fangs! Crosses! Corpses! Beautiful, and sometimes nude, women in peril! Cadavers! Body parts! Mad labs! Monsters! Dracula and Frankenstein movies continue!
Welcome, all lovers of double features! Welcome to my Radio Spot Reliquary.
Well, I was rummaging through my files when I saw that my radio spot tribute to Hammer vampire movies was incomplete: I found two more. And, they were part of some Hammer Films double features which included a mummy sequel and three Frankenstein films! So, I thought I would introduce the Frankenstein and Mummy sagas here also. Confusing? Well, let me explain…
Last time I featured two Dracula movies which headlined two double features, one containing zombies and the other an occult adventure. This time the two vampire movies take the backseat to two Frankenstein movies and the third double feature has a mummy movie taking the backseat to a Frankenstein film! Whew! It’s not as complicated as it sounds.
First off, we journey to 1967 for Frankenstein Created Woman, a play on And God Created Woman from 1956, and The Mummy’s Shroud, third in Hammer’s Mummy series. Peter Cushing returns as Baron Frankenstein but Christopher Lee is absent from the former.
Second, from 1970, we have Horror of Frankenstein and Scars of Dracula, with Ralph Bates in the first and Christopher Lee in the second.
Lastly, from 1974, there’s Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell paired with Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter. Peter Cushing again reprises his role as the good doctor in this, the final chapter of the Frankenstein saga, and Horst Janson stars as Captain Kronos, chasing vampires who drain the youth instead of blood from their victims.
Sadly, none of these double feature radio spots highlight any theater handouts.
The movies were winding down and the radio spots tried to capture the old glamour, but time and movie culture were taking their tolls. They are still fun, though, especially as two spots for the Horror/Scars double feature hold on to the puns from an earlier marketing angle. But it’s sad to think these spots were at the end of such glorious Hammer traditions.
Murders! Corpses! Body parts! Vampires! Bats! Good vs Evil! Tombs! Bandages! Ancient curses! More gorgeous women in peril! Three Hammer double features! Bonus! I just found two spots each for the single releases of Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell and Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter. Enjoy!
Horror of Frankenstein and Scars of Dracula
Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter
Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell and Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter
Welcome, all lovers of the movies that drain you! Welcome to my Radio Spot Reliquary.
Many thanks go out to my friend, the ever-vivacious Granny Creech, for filling in for me and doing the spots for Dracula Has Risen From the Grave. I was busy elsewhere and just couldn’t fit it in to meet Ol’ Zombos’ schedule. He’s a real stickler about things like that, and I knew I’d be in big trouble with the old guy if I were late, so Granny saved my skin, what little there is left of it.
Anyway, in keeping with my original plan, here are spots for two more Hammer vampire treasures, Dracula: Prince of Darkness and Dracula A.D. 1972. …
Welcome, all lovers of the mysterious and other-worldly! Welcome to my Radio Spot Reliquary.
In late 1977 a movie opened which captured the imaginations of all those who believe in UFOs and extraterrestrial life. The sci-fi magazines of the time immediately began to compare it to Star Wars but, in all fairness, it was a movie of a totally different kind. This movie, set on Earth, appealed more to the mind…offering many puzzling events which led to an astonishing conclusion. Visually it was satisfying and the effects were great, especially the mind-blowing finale. It remains a classic but didn’t lead to any spin-offs or sequels, aside from a director’s cut or two. So, keep watching the skies…they are watching us.
Mysterious lights in the sky! Strange happenings! Strange visions! The Devil’s Tower! Losing your mind! Government cover-up! The Mother ship! D-E-C-C-G! Contact! Close Encounters of the Third Kind!
Whew, is it hot! It is hotter than an overcooked vat of my Witch’s Brew!
I was just sitting here in my parlor when I received a phone call from the Radio Reaper. He was all in a tizzy:
“Granny,” he said, breathlessly, “have you seen Zombos’ recent posting? It is the pressbook for Dracula Has Risen From The Grave. I have some radio spots for it but I’m too busy to fix them up and send them to him. Can You do it?”
“Sure, Reaper,” I said. “I will be glad to. Send me the files and I’ll get right on it.”
He did and I did, and I must admit they were right up my alley. I wasn’t too familiar with the movie or the spots, but after hearing them, I was glad I got to write something about them.
They are not the usual radio spots I am used to hearing! If you have never heard them you are in for quite a treat. They are full of puns and I LOLed through most of them (that’s text jargon for those of you who do not know). I called up my grandson Big Abner and let him hear them and he LOLed, too.
Hee hee.
These spots are quite unlike anything I would have thought the Warner Bros./Seven Arts marketers for Hammer’s vampire movie would have resorted to so I had to look it up on Wikipedia to see if it was a spoof or a tongue-in-cheek feature. But, no, it was played in all seriousness…even rated “G”, which is surprising in itself. However, the one-sheet poster should have been a dead giveaway for the advertising tone. I didn’t read anything about what Hammer Films thought of the American campaign so I guess all was well, since it became Hammer’s most profitable movie (according to IMDb).
Reader reviews on the Internet Movie Data Base (IMDb) mostly agree that it is one of the best in the Hammer series. I haven’t seen it so I can’t attest to that fact or add my opinion. It is the fourth of the series and was made in 1968.
So, here are the spots, courtesy of the Radio Reaper’s Reliquary. We hope you enjoy them and get a laugh or two from them. If nothing else, they have quite a bite….sorry…. Now, on with the pun-ishment!!
If you have radio spots you would like to share with Granny or just want to exchange spells, you can reach her at [email protected].
Welcome, all lovers of outer space adventures! Welcome to my Radio Spot Reliquary.
It was late May of 1977 when a relatively unknown movie opened in theaters and set off a chain reaction never before seen…a reaction that is still going strong almost fifty years later. Through sequels, comic books, books, cartoon series, and countless streaming spin-offs, the adventure continues to this day. Never has a handful of characters been so totally embraced by the cultures of the world as have these brave and gallant heroes battling seemingly overwhelming odds. Visually magnificent with groundbreaking visual effects, this motion picture set the standard for space operas to follow.
Radio-wise, the marketing campaign for this film never let up. The first five radio spots released were from May, 1977 and the next three were from mid-summer. The next fifteen story spots done in serial form were from its re-release in July, 1978 (shoot, at some theaters it was still playing as late as December, 1977!), and the last ten were from its re-release in 1979…”It’s Back!”
So, listen to the radio spots from the movie that started it all…a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. The Force! Droids! Aliens! Heroes and a Princess! Jedis! Light Sabers! Star Destroyers! The Death Star! Star Wars!
